***Zika virus (Shorts and Longs) (ZIKA)***

[Ubertino]

6. What are the long-term risks if you contract Zika?

By far one of the more popular themes among all the questions for Morse was about the long-term risks of contracting Zika virus.

He said: “We think once you’re recovered that the virus is probably gone from the body.” (Versus something like chickenpox, which stays in the body.)

One reader asked if a woman who contracted Zika, then become pregnant much later would still be at risk to see birth defects in her fetus.

It’s too soon to know for sure, Morse said, but probably her fetus will be OK: “There is insufficient data on the question of whether it is safe for a woman who has been infected with Zika to get pregnant later. But given what we know so far, she should probably be safe after recovery.”

Another commenter chimed in that, according to the CDC, “there is no threat to later pregnancies. The threat is when the pregnant mother becomes infected, and the threat is only for the baby currently being carried.”

marketwatch.com

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/your-questions-about-zika-virus-answered-by-an-expert-2016-02-01